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Could this Atletico Madrid attacker be heading to Arsenal in January?

Reports in Italy claim that Arsenal may be planning an ambitious raid for one of Atletico Madrid's attackers in January, with versatile Turkish midfielder Arda Turan said to be a Gunners target. talkSPORT's Transfer Spotlight has more on the man helping his side to challenge Barcelona at the top of La Liga...

What's the latest?
Radamel Falcao may be the biggest target currently plying his trade at Atletico Madrid, there are plenty of other talented players helping the club to punch above their weight in the Spanish League. Attacking midfielder Arda Turan is one of those, and it appears Arsenal could be ready to move for his services in the winter window, after his agent admitted he would like a change of scenery. It could take significant money for the Gunners to convince Atletico to part ways with him in January however, as the Madrid side are likely to try and hold on to their top stars until the end of the season in order to achieve the best league finish possible.

Did you know?

1) Turan's career started with a brief spell at Altintepsi Makelspor, before moving to Galatasaray's youth academy as a 12-year-old. Gheorghe Hagi promoted him to their first team in the 2004/05 season, with the Turk making his debut on 22 January 2005 against Bursaspor. After failing to progress as Galatasaray expected, however, he was loaned out to Manisaspor for the second half of the following season.

2) At Manisaspor Turan's performances improved dramatically, scoring two and assisting three in 15 appearances. His loan display earned him a return to the Galatasaray first team, where he quickly established himself as a regular in the 2006/07 season. He was made captain in 2009, and subsequently awarded their number 10 shirt.

3) The attacker ended his Galatasaray career in 2011 with the Turkish league title, Turkish Cup and a Super Cup win, totalling 194 appearances, 45 goals and 77 assists with the club. Atletico Madrid signed him for €12m in August 2011, a record fee for a Turkish player.

4) Turan made his Atletico debut on 28 August 2011 in a La Liga tie against Osasuna, and on 15 September of the same year he made his European debut in a 2-0 Europa League win over Celtic. One of his biggest contributions since arriving at the club was assisting Radamel Falcao for the second goal in Atletico's 3-0 2011/12 Europa League final win over Athletic Club. Turan has made 51 appearances for Atletico to date, scoring 10 goals and assisting 19.

5) The Atletico star made his debut for the Turkish national team in August 2006, and participated in Euro 2008 with his nation. He has made 57 appearances for Turkey, playing mainly on the left wing, and has scored 12 goals.

They say
“Arda has played at Atletico for two seasons now. I have wanted to see him play for another team in another league and Arda wants the same. We're working to make this happen, Atletico know what our intention is and are working with us. I can't say the league or you'll know exactly who I'm talking about but let's just put it like this, there are only five or six clubs which could afford Arda right now and he's going to join one of these clubs.”- Turan's agent Ahmet Bulut.

Video evidence

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